I am almost certain that most readers of this blog will remember the famous Pizza Hut Book It! Program. When I was in school there was a pin I had to keep, and once the pin had been filled with stickers I received from the teacher after finishing a book, we could bring it to the local Pizza Hut for a free personal pan pizza.

The current program can be explored here:

http://www.bookitprogram.com/About/ourprogram.asp

All materials are free to educators, and I’m sure that there are several analyses at Pizza Hut that show the additional revenue produced by the occasional free pizza, so it’s essentially a win-win scenario. I did not expect to see the vitriol out on the interwebs about it because CORPORATIONS MAKING KIDS FAT AND HATE READING and guys I have to be honest I have too many other things to worry about, I do not have any fucks to give about whether the absolutely free to schools Book It program is bad because SPONSORSHIP. Ugh.

I love pizza and I love reading – I’m a fat woman who will willingly read for pizza. I say anything that encourages kids to read that is free to all involved gives kids the chance to “eat your vegetables” and maybe learn to love them along the way is fine with me. Sure the kid might be doing it for the pizza, but I guess what I’m saying is that the pizza is worth the gamble that a kid might actually read a book they enjoy and then ask “is there another book like this?”

What incentive programs have you seen out there for encouraging reading? What ones would you recommend? Share your thoughts, I’m truly interested in what’s out there encouraging little hands to pick up books. 🙂